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Princeton Review and GamePro Rank Drexel in the Top 7 for Video Game Design Study

Princeton Review and GamePro Rank Drexel in the Top 7 for Video Game Design Study

March 8, 2011

Drexel University was ranked number seven nationally for its undergraduate video gaming programs and number five nationally for graduate video gaming programs on The Princeton Review's second annual list saluting the best graduate schools in the U.S. and Canada to study video game design. The Princeton Review chose the schools based on a survey of administrators at 150 institutions offering video game design coursework and/or degrees in the United States and Canada. The Princeton Review developed its “Top Schools for Video Game Design Study" list in partnership with GamePro, one of the most respected brands in the video game industry, reaching over 3 million gamers a month.
Drexel Game Design is a collaborative effort between the University’s Computer Science department in the College of Engineering and the Digital Media program in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. Digital Media offers the new Game Art and Production major, while Computer Science offers a new Game Programming and Development concentration. This collaboration also includes the Drexel Research on Play or “RePlay” Lab. RePlay exposes students to game development through research projects and proof-of-concept demonstrations that allow students to explore all aspects of video game design and creation. Drexel’s Goodwin College of Professional Studies also offers concentrations and certificates in Learning in Game Based Environments.

“Our top-ten rankings for both our undergraduate and graduate offerings highlight the strength of our growing multi-discipline game design curriculum and research,” said Dr. Paul Diefenbach, co-director of the RePlay Lab and associate professor of digital media. “We are taking gaming beyond the notion of traditional entertainment. Our undergraduate game design courses have been featured as models of game education on the national evening news. Our research involving brain interfaces, motion capture, motion platform simulators, and augmented reality push new concepts of gameplay and the use of games for education and training. With collaborations across the university including Biomedical Engineering, Psychology and the School of Education, as well as new course offerings, concentrations and majors in game design, Drexel is continuing to redefine what cross-discipline game design education entails.”

Dr. Frank Lee, Associate Teaching Professor and Co-Director of Drexel Game Design Program and RePlay Game Lab , said, "While we are absolutely delighted with our ranking and the recognition that comes with it, we are never satisfied. We continue to improve and expand our curriculum at Drexel. This includes the new Game Art and Production degree in Digital Media and the new Game Programming and Development concentration in Computer Science. We are also looking forward to opening a new lab within this year that will include a state-of-the-art motion platform and CAVE system for virtual interaction."

About the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design:
Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design offers sixteen undergraduate and five graduate programs in media, design and the performing arts. Programs are taught in small studio settings, featuring hands-on learning and an award-winning faculty of industry practitioners who emphasize the use of the latest technologies. Westphal College is home to the Mandell Theater, the Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel’s television (DUTV) and radio (WKDU 91.7 FM) stations, the Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies, MAD Dragon Records and Drexel’s Historic Costume Collection. Allen Sabinson is the dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. For more information about the College, go to: www.drexel.edu/westphal.

About the Drexel College of Engineering:
Drexel’s College of Engineering is the largest private undergraduate college of engineering in the nation and is Drexel’s largest College with more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students specializing in research, experiential and global education. In 2010, research expenditures within the College totaled $28 million and the College received 118 new awards. The college is comprised of six departments and the undergraduate program has been ranked 51 in the 2010 U.S. News & World Report for colleges whose highest degree is a doctorate, making it one of the top 25 private undergraduate programs in the nation. For more information on Drexel University’s College of Engineering, please visit www.drexel.edu/coe.

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Photo caption: a snapshot of the Drexel Ride, a motion platform simulator game.

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